Edinburgh hotels: Work begins to transform 1970s Haymarket office block into new 157-room ‘landmark’ hotel

S Harrison, the property development company who acquired the Haymarket building in 2018, has appointed Ogilvie Construction as the principal contractor on the project. European hotel group Meininger Hotels will operate the hotel.

The development will see the 50-year-old former office building, currently known as Osborne House, transformed into large hotel complete with a residents’ bar, restaurant and lounge area on the ground floor and an outdoor seating terrace. Following a partial demolition of the existing building, two new accommodation wings will be built to the rear, together with a new storey above the existing property.

The development will see the 1970s Haymarket office building transformed into large hotel complete with a residents’ bar, restaurant and lounge area | S Harrison

Andrew Wharton, from S Harrison, said: “Appointing Ogilvie Construction to deliver another landmark project in Edinburgh and seeing work start is obviously a key milestone for this development and follows several years of diligent work to secure both planning permission and the right occupier for the scheme. We’re now looking forward to seeing our plans progress on site over the coming months.”

Grier Edmead, operations director at Ogilvie Construction, said: “We are proud to be working with S Harrison on this project which has energy-efficiency and strong sustainability credentials at the heart of its design. Our team brings unrivalled specialist knowledge of the hotel and leisure sector, and we look forward to successfully delivering a first-class destination in the city, making both S Harrison’s and Meininger Hotels’ vision for this building a reality.”

The building is located just west of Edinburgh city centre, a short walk from Princes Street. Ann Scott, managing director at S Harrison said Osborne House is located in a ‘vibrant area’ and will ‘no doubt it will become a very popular hotel’ due to its close proximity to the tram line, Haymarket station, Murrayfield Stadium and Edinburgh’s city centre.

Ms Scott added: “The 157-bedroom Edinburgh hotel will have 549 beds in a mix of rooms including doubles and private multiple-bed rooms. It will also have a taxi drop off area, disabled parking and secure cycle storage.”

Last year, S Harrison announced a deal with MEININGER Hotels to run the building. The German-based company operates 36 hotels across 26 European cities with each hotel featuring its own unique design and offering affordable modern accommodation | S Harrison

In recent years, S Harrison delivered a boutique hotel for Malmaison on the north-west corner of St Andrew Square. The developer is also working on two PBSA (purpose built student accommodation) schemes consisting of 64 studio apartments on East Newington Place and 76 studios at the Canongate just behind the Royal Mile.

The developer has also submitted plans for a major new £80 million mixed-use development as part of the Ocean Point 2 project at the Leith waterfront, comprising of residential and PBSA, along with commercial, co-working and amenity spaces.